AILSA CHANG, HOST:
In recent days, Puerto Rican voters in the U.S. have been at the center of the political conversation after a comedian at a Trump rally insulted their island. Now, voters on the island cannot cast a vote for the next president, but on Tuesday, they could usher in a new political era for Puerto Rico. For the first time, they could elect a governor who supports the territory's independence from the United States. That would be a rejection of the two parties that have long dominated there. Many Puerto Ricans blame them for the Island's economic problems. For more, we're joined now by NPR's Adrian Florido. Hey, Adrian.
ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: Hi. OK, so tell us more about this candidate for governor and why he represents potentially big changes for Puerto Rico.
FLORIDO: Well, his name is Juan Dalmau. He's run twice before for governor, but he's never come close to winning because he does not come from one of the two main parties. In Puerto Rico, there are no left, right parties like we have in the U.S. The political system is built around the question of the island's relationship to the U.S. So there's the party that supports Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. state and the one that wants it to remain a U.S. territory. Dalmau, this new candidate, is from a third party which supports complete independence. It's always been a minor party, but this year, Dalmau is polling neck and neck with the pro-statehood candidate, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon.
CHANG: Interesting. So what's going on here? Like, why is this pro-independence candidate polling so well against these historically dominant parties?
FLORIDO: Well, primarily and somewhat ironically, Ailsa, it's because he's telling voters that this debate about whether Puerto Rico should become a state or a country or remain a territory - that that should be put on the back burner. Dalmau's argument is that this decadeslong obsession with the status question in Puerto Rico has led local politicians to basically neglect Puerto Ricans' basic everyday needs - good jobs, a stable power grid, decent health care. And in any case, he says, local politicians have no real say on status. Any change would require congressional approval. Here's Dalmau in a video he posted this week.
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JUAN DALMAU: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORIDO: "The opportunity we have in this election," he said, "is to decide not our political status, but who's going to administer our government? Who's going to put our house in order?"
CHANG: Which sounds like a pretty straightforward platform that's focused on everyday issues, right?
FLORIDO: It is, but it's hard to overstate how radical an idea it is to put this political status question on hold because it always has been at the heart of the Island's politics. But Dalmau adopted this idea from an upstart party that first put it out there four years ago and that he's now in a political alliance with.
CHANG: So why is their message resonating with so many people, especially now, you think?
FLORIDO: Well, because Puerto Rico has been in an economic crisis for almost 20 years. It's been trying to claw its way out of massive crippling debt and bankruptcy. A federal control board has slashed government services. The power grid's in terrible shape. There have been corruption scandals. Young people have left in droves because they can't find jobs. And they blame all of this largely on those two main parties that have always dominated politics. This is University of Puerto Rico political scientist Mayra Velez-Serrano.
MAYRA VELEZ-SERRANO: In Puerto Rico, we have to talk about the crisis generation. These young people from 18 to 30 - they have not seen a Puerto Rico in progress. They just have seen a crisis after crisis after crisis after crisis.
FLORIDO: Now, Ailsa, there's no guarantee that Juan Dalmau is going to win. The gubernatorial election polls are showing a very close race between him and the pro-statehood candidate, Jennifer Gonzalez, who is the island's nonvoting representative in Congress. She's got a lot of institutional support. But Dalmau's message of building up Puerto Rico where Puerto Ricans can imagine a future for themselves has really struck a nerve, and if he wins, it would be a big shock to Puerto Rico's entire political system.
CHANG: That is NPR's Adrian Florido. Thank you so much, Adrian.
FLORIDO: Thank you, Ailsa.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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